By the Numbers: Arizona Wildcats survive Washington’s upset bid with late run

By Arizona Sports | January 4, 2014 at 9:41 pmUPDATED: January 4, 2014 at 10:08 pm

The Arizona Wildcats have passed every test they’ve faced this season.

That trend continued Saturday for the nation’s No. 1-ranked team.

Nick Johnson scored 24 points, freshman phenom Aaron Gordon added 18 of his own to go along with 10 rebounds, and the UA pulled away late to outlast the Washington Huskies 71-62.

Here’s a look back at the win, which matched the school’s best start in 82 years:

0:

Washington forward Shawn Kemp Jr. didn’t score in the second half and fouled out with more than 10 minutes to go after scoring nine points on 4-of-4 shooting in the first half.

2:

Both teams connected on just two 3-pointers, though Arizona’s came on 22 percent shooting from behind the arc while Washington shot just 16.7 percent from deep.

3:

Gordon missed just three shots on the afternoon (8-of-11), including his only 3-point attempt, while converting on a number of wild-looking shot attempts in the lane.

3:

Washington freshman guard Nigel Williams-Goss turned the ball over three times in the second half after not giving the ball away once in the game’s first 20 minutes.

5:

Arizona point guard T.J. McConnell made an impact on all five major categories, with five rebounds, six assists, four rebounds, a block and four points, though he shot just 1-of-5 from the field. McConnell had just two turnovers on the day.

15:

The Wildcats assisted on 15 of their 24 field goal makes, with all but one UA player recording at least one and three racking up multiple dishes.

15:

Arizona has won 15 straight games to open the season, the second-best start in school history. The only one better came in the 1931-32 season, when the Wildcats started 16-0.

25:

Washington’s second-half shooting percentage was 25 percent lower than its first-half conversion rate. The Huskies shot 56 percent from the field in the opening half and just 31 percent to close — finishing at 41.7 percent (25-of-60).

80.8:

The Wildcats — who have struggled with free-throw shooting this season — continued to convert when it counted, hitting 80.8 percent of their shots from the charity stripe (21-of-26).